Blog

  • The Fitness Excitement Rollercoaster & How To Deal with It-ish

    I barely have the stomach for un-turbo rollercoster, let alone TURBO.

     

    If you are just starting with your health and exercise routine, this post will give a peek a into the future and what to expect. And if you are a more experience trainee… well, this might act as nice reminder. So you’ll remember not to forget.

    When down the track you feel disheartened remember that 99% of folks who start a fitness routine go through these same steps. It’s almost as common as the urge to fart after drinking milk. Yet nobody talks about it because it’s not cool. Unless you are part of the special lactose intolerance – circles (or SLIC for short).

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  • Conquering Donut Cravings

    Mmmmmm…donuts

     

    As is with most great blog post ideas (even if I say it myself), this too came while having a chat with one of my clients last week. He’s been trying to find ways to curb down his sugar consumption and was able to do so with a very simple shift in mindset. (more…)

  • A Client Case Study – Louise

    One of my client’s daily calorie calculations. Not.

    Before going through the first case study, I want to make something clear. Although I have few “before and after” photos on my testimonials page, I am actually not a big fan of them. These photos don’t tell what actually happened between before and after. Even worse, they imply that there is such a thing as after. I am a firm believer in a continuous improvement. Not a one-off transformation. (more…)

  • Comfort and Happiness Are Often Incompatible

    Another Van Halen related photo

    comfort
    /ˈkʌmfət/
    noun
    – a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

    When looking at the above definition of comfort you’d think that the meaning of life is the eternal search for that very thing. Everything about it sounds like the most tranquil place on earth. A place where you get showered with gummi bears while watching unicorns play catch with mermaids. Or, failing that, barbeques and ballgames. (more…)

  • Exercises Batman Would Do: The Get Up

    The one cup in Batcave that Robin is banned from using

     

    [Update 2020 – I still stand behind most of the stuff I wrote here back in 2017. But, I might have to re-do the exercise demos. They look somewhat average today.]

    This is a new, semi-frequent segment that I am starting where I do a rundown of some of my favorite exercises and movements. The question I ask myself before qualifying a certain movement or exercise for these segments is: would Batman perform this exercise to improve his movement, strength, longevity and stamina? If the answer is a resounding “yes” from Bruce Wayne, it’s worth writing about. (more…)

  • The Skill of Being Still

    “aaand another one rides the bus…”

    The other day, I am sitting on the bus on my way home minding my own business as I usually do. Yet I am drawn to observe the erratic behavior of the gentleman sitting in front of me. A gentleman who we shall call, Homer. It looks as if Homer’s mind and fingers are possessed by mystic, dark forces. Something out of an aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. (more…)

  • Set Your Own Standards for a Perfect Body

    #nofilter (yeah, right)

    This is going to be controversial coming from a personal trainer whose income is tied to being fit and showing others how to achieve the same. But bear with me, it’ll make sense in the end.

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  • How to Be as Flexible as JCVD (in the 80’s)

    Strength. Control. Flexibility. Grace. And trees. Trees are good too.

    Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg.
    Jean-Claude Van Damme.
    JCVD.

    A man who moves smoother than Morgan Freeman’s voice and drops into splits faster than you can say “moules-frites”. If god forbid, you ever get into a situation where you are required to talk dirt and handle splits and scissor kicks, you need JCVD on your side. 

    And the next best thing if Jean-Claude is not on your speed dial? Make your body move like his. (more…)

  • Louder Than Love

    You’ll always remember where you were when you heard something happening to a person close to you. When the good and the bad happens to friends and family you’ll always remember where you were and who you were with when you heard the news.

    As most of you know, music is a major part of my life. When someone whose art has impacted me passes, I feel sadness. It’s different form of sadness compared to when someone I personally know dies, but it’s still grief. Their music had provided a soundtrack to my life. (more…)

  • Thoughts on… XI: May 2017

    Coffee and yearning. What else?


    Time for another one of these. The first ten or so are training related and then we get more into “life stuff”, whatever that means.  These are notes from my Google Notes file that is just filed under Daily Learnings.     (more…)